CALGARY – It’s three floors down and nowhere to go but up for the new $900-million arena for the NHL’s Calgary Flames, even with the ongoing tariff war with the United States.
The building — to be named Scotia Place — is being built in the shadow of the Saddledome and its iconic saddle-shaped concave roof.
The hockey arena is part of a new $1.2-billion event centre and entertainment district near the city’s downtown.
Groundbreaking on the project occurred nine months ago, and it’s on schedule and on budget to open in the fall of 2027.
Bob Hunter, a member of the Scotia Place project committee, told reporters Monday that crews have installed more than 1,200 structural piles and last week began to stand up rebar panels and pour concrete into forms for the first series of walls.
“We’ve gone down and now we start to come back up,” said Hunter from the top floor of a parkade overlooking the site.
“We’ve taken street level down 35 feet or three storeys.”
Hunter said the project is still on budget, despite what’s happening with tariffs globally.
“In February, we awarded a major steel contract, within budget, helping us manage potential risks as the U.S. tariffs situation evolves as a never-ending moving target,” Hunter said.
He added that the $80-million contract with Walters Group is to see materials come from Europe and fabricated in Hamilton. Every effort was made to obtain product from within Canada and Europe.
“Most of the procurement for that will be already in place. We should be fine from a tariff impact standpoint,” he said.
“Any opportunity to avoid having even some of the suppliers having to avoid going through the U.S … is something that we look at.”
Hunter said, however, there’s no avoiding some procurements from the United States, including video boards and seats.
Scotia Place, with a seating capacity of 18,400, is also to include a community arena, indoor and outdoor public plazas, gathering spaces and multiple dining options.
The Saddledome, home to the Flames since it was built in 1983, is one of the oldest arenas in the NHL. It is to face the wrecking ball once Scotia Place is complete.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 14, 2025.
